1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for continuously measuring and correcting a tackiness of a sheet of unvulcanized rubber material.
2. Description of the Related Art
The tackiness of an unvulcanized rubber material, such as a sheet of unvulcanized rubber material or a calendered unvulcanized rubber material is measured as a step for an improvement of a subsequent treatment of the rubber material. Conventional tackiness measuring devices use a pair of opposed adherent samples, which are pressed together and then one sample is peeled from the other. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-63435 discloses a tackiness measuring device in which a lower adherent sample is firmly held in a stationary position and an upper sample is held around a periphery of a metal disk. The metal disk can be lowered or lifted at a constant speed, whereby the upper sample is pressed against the lower adherent sample by lowering the metal disk and the upper sample is peeled from the lower adherent sample by lifting the metal disk. A resistance force measured when the upper sample is peeled from the lower adherent sample is considered to represent a tackiness of the samples.
In conventional tackiness measuring devices, however, the samples must be prepared as cut pieces, and the measuring of the tackiness of a sheet of unvulcanized rubber material is usually carried out under controlled environmental conditions. Accordingly, it is not possible to continuously use conventional tackiness measuring devices on a rubber manufacturing line. Further, it is necessary to carry out repeated samplings and testings of the tackiness of the rubber material in a rubber manufacturing line, which leads to a need for labor-consuming work and variations of the resultant data due to discontinuity in the measuring process.